"A first-rate look at the little-known story behind the creation of America's first continental railroad…Entertaining and well written." —Publishers Weekly
One hundred forty years ago, four shopkeepers in Sacramento, California, rose to become the force behind the American transcontinental railroad, achieving along the way wealth beyond measure. To build influence and maintain power, they lied, bribed, and, when necessary, arranged for obstacles, both human and legal, to disappear. Their names were Collis Huntington, Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins, and they were known as "The Big Four" or "The Associates." Their drive for money—nothing more, nothing less—was epic. Their legacy is a university, public gardens, museums, mansions, banks, and libraries—and to a large degree, California itself. A captivating chronicle of a crucial period in American urban expansion, The Associates is a true-to-life tale of ruthless ambition, staggering greed, and the making of a nation
From Book Browse: The Associates
One hundred forty years ago, four men rose from their position as middle-class merchants in Sacramento, California, to become the force behind the transcontinental railroad. In the course of doing so, they became wealthy beyond any measure—and to sustain their power, they lied, bribed, wheedled, and, when necessary, arranged for obstacles, both human and legal, to disappear. Their names were Collis Huntington, Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins, and they were known as "The Big Four" or "The Associates." Their drive for money—nothing more, nothing less—was epic. Their legacy is a university, public gardens, museums, mansions, banks, and libraries--and to a large degree California itself, a state that even today owes its aura of "can-do" and limitless possibilities to The Associates.
From NPR: Richard Rayner -- " The Associates"
In "The Associates: Four Capitalists Who Created California," author Richard Rayner tells the little-known story of four shopkeepers who rose to become capitalist titans through the creation of America's first continental railroad. We talk with Rayner, who is both a novelist and non-fiction writer.
From BusinessReport: How greed won the West and capitalism created California
The history of America's first transcontinental railroad is usually remembered in romantic sepia tones. We picture Chinese workers clawing tunnels through the Sierra Nevada, heading east. Or Irishmen battling Cheyenne and Sioux as they drive track westward across the Great Plains.
Then, at last, two steam locomotives meet, cowcatcher to cowcatcher, on May 10 1869. Click goes the camera in Utah, freezing the moment.
Like most photo ops, this image clouds the truth. For what really laid the rails was greed, as Richard Rayner demonstrates in his admirably terse primer, The Associates: Four Capitalists Who Created California.
From C-Span: The Associates: Four Capitalists Who Created California
The Associates: Four Capitalists Who Created California Richard Rayner talked about his book The Associates: Four Capitalists Who Created California, published by W. W. Norton/Atlas and Company. In his book he chronicles the four men who financed the transcontinental railroad. Collis Huntington, Charles Crocker, Mark Hopkins, and Leland Stanford who were commonly known as “The Associates.” Mr. Rayner presents the business partners as by-products of a win-at-all costs business ethos influenced by the California Gold Rush and contends that their interest in money was far greater than their desire to unite the country via the railroad. He responded to questions from members of the audience.
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